


midnight train

by dotaeverse



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Cute meet, Japan, M/M, Making Out, Slow Burn, Train Ride, Work, dotae, not smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-24
Updated: 2019-07-24
Packaged: 2020-07-12 06:07:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19941445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dotaeverse/pseuds/dotaeverse
Summary: Doyoung thinks it's sheer luck that they catch the same train, at the same coach, at the same time. But also, Doyoung makes sure to always catch the 11:15 train, at the second coach, just in case.





	midnight train

**Author's Note:**

> ngl i had fun writing this... so i hope you enjoy reading too

It's him again. It's been a while since Doyoung saw this guy. Two days, to be exact.  
  
Doyoung barely knows anyone here. It's Tokyo, for fuck's sake. He's struggling to speak, let alone make friends. As a well-known social butterfly in his hometown, being lonely is entirely new for him. Strangely, this guy is one of the few people that he'd file under the list of people he qualifies as familiar.  
  
Tonight, he's wearing a gray shirt under a windbreaker jacket. Still, with earphones on. He's leaning unto a pole, not really holding. He's too engrossed in his phone.  
  
Or Doyoung thought so. The guy looked up and stared back at him, with a piercing look. Awkwardly and almost too quickly that it's obviously fake, Doyoung pretended to be texting. He's quite cute, Doyoung thought. That was their first eye contact after three days of riding the same train.  
  
Doyoung thinks it's sheer luck that they catch the same train, same coach, at the same time. But also Doyoung makes sure to always ride the 11:15 train, on the second coach, just in case.  
  
  
  
__  
  
  
  
Doyoung enters the train. It's more crowded than usual, considering that it's late. _Maybe tourists had flocked again._  
  
He stands in the aisle and grabs the handrails, while gripping his bag tightly.  
  
Today has been more exhausting than his daily complaints. His boss was being a dick, considering that it's just been a week since he got his job here. Doyoung wonders if he's doing bad at work, or just that his boss is simply an asshole with a complex. He decides it's the latter.   
  
He notices the guy standing next to a pole beside the train doors. Doyoung's made it a habit to search for him right after he boards the train, just to make sure he's on the right railway. Also because he thinks he's cute as fuck.  
  
He's wearing specs tonight, the pair he's wearing the first time Doyoung saw him. Even with a hood above his head, Doyoung could easily recognize him. His built is of a typical Japanese guy, not really tall, neither is he muscular, but there's definitely something about him that strikes unique to Doyoung.  
  
_Is he sleeping?_ His eyes are closed, with his earphones plugged. Doyoung fibbles on his phone for a while.  
  
The train stops. A seated couple left at this station, and Doyoung wondered if he should seat since he's dying of fatigue. He's been switching his weight from one foot to the other, and almost just barely hanging on the rails. But someone else has made the decision for him, as an old man sits, and so did the guy. _Well, he can have it._ Doyoung thinks the guy looks far more exhausted than him anyway.  
  
Just then he noticed that the guy is looking at him. Doyoung would've gazed away again, when the guy stood up, and gestured for him to sit. Doyoung was embarrassed, to say the least. Did he think I was looking because I wanted to seat? And he's too shy to decline, and so he just took it. He nodded as a gesture of 'thanks', and sat. The guy nodded back.  
  
Very quickly, Doyoung has fell asleep. After 13 stops, the guy hops off. Doyoung leaves at the 14th.  
  
\--  
  
Tonight, it was raining. Everyone was either dripping in their raincoats or holding a transparent umbrella. Doyoung's the latter. Don't wanna ruin an outfit with a raincoat. He notices that the guy wasn't carrying a raincoat too, but neither an umbrella was on sight.  
  
Thankfully, the cart tonight is spacious. Doyoung took a seat opposite to the pole where the guy is standing. They look at each other for a while, as if they've already recognized each other, before the guy first looks away. An improvement, Doyoung thought. He also wonders why the guy was standing when there are seats unoccupied.   
  
Numb with exhaustion, as usual, Doyoung drowses off.   
  
__  
  
Doyoung quickly stands up and the umbrella on his lap falls, drawing attention from the people near him. He was dazed as he slept so deep that it took him a moment to sink things in. He squints at the LED where the next stop is shown and reads, "Harajuku?" he quietly wondered, and mumbled an "Ah, shit," when he realized. He was supposed to leave at Shinjuku, which is still two stops after. He comprehends that he must've heard wrong as he was sleeping dead tiredly.  
  
The guy picks up the fallen umbrella and hands it to him. Doyoung was flustered yet again. He mumbles a "Joseonghamnida," still fazed, until he realized he said sorry in his native language. Realizing how much of an idiot he is, he quickly said, and a little louder this time, "Gomenasai," trying to regain himself.  
  
The stranger smiles and says "Gwaenchanhayo," which is Korean for 'it's okay,' and Doyoung was dumbstruck. Then the guy adds, "Also, you can apologize with 'sumimasen,' 'gomenasai' is too formal," before the train announced the next stop. Once again the guy smiled modestly and nodded before he left.   
  
Doyoung was just silently standing there, still wondering if he's still wildly disoriented, or if the guy actually conversed with him in Korean and had a little Japanese lecture from him.   
  
\--  
  
Doyoung makes sure that everything about him is right today. He couldn’t bear the thought of the guy seeing him again after the little embarrassing contact they had. He even combed his hair neatly, not really caring that he’s already on his way home, let alone that anyone else beside himself would notice. He just needed this confidence.  
  
At the back of his mind, he also knows that he could just ride a different coach to save his face. But he knows that he doesn’t want to, and he’d really rather see him again.  
  
The train arrives, at the exact time as usual, and he steps in. The guy tonight is seated, and next to him is an empty seat. Tonight he’s wearing a jacket, unhooded, and without earphones plugged.  
  
With the courage he mustered, Doyoung sits next to him.  
  
He didn’t imagine that it would be awkward to sit next a stranger, and immediately weighed if he should regret his decision. Unconsciously, he was tapping his finger unto the bag that’s seated on his lap. He didn’t know what god of courage struck him to say, “Um, you’re Korean?” with a tone unsure of what intonation he should end with, as he really is still wondering if yesterday was just a fever dream.  
  
He wanted to jump off the train so bad when the guy looked at him amusingly for a moment. “Yeah, I’ve lived here for a while now,” he answers, quite softly. Just then did Doyoung allow himself to breathe normally. At that moment, the cold mental image of this guy that Doyoung painted in his head quickly faded.  
  
He takes a good look at the stranger’s face, and realizes how awfully good-looking he is. He looks like a celebrity off a television, or a campus crush that everyone would die to date. Add the two piercings he got on his left ear, Doyoung thought he'd die for him too.   
  
“I’ve got a job here just last week,” Doyoung shares, trying to sound cool, but not really sure where it’s heading.  
  
“Yeah? I’ve noticed we ride the same train,” _Oh, you noticed too?_ Doyoung’s insides does a little flip, with a million thoughts running through his head.  
  
“Um yeah, my shift actually ends some time around 10,” Doyoung replies, but actually he dismisses earlier than that, he just waits around until it’s exactly 11:15 to board the train. _That is how uneventful my life has become, waiting until late at night to see a familiar stranger on a train_ , he thought to himself.  
  
He remembers how he got lost going home on the first day of work, confused as shit with the railway system, and that’s why it took him until 11:15 to board the right train.  
  
“Must be really exhausting, hmm? You sleep the whole ride,” the stranger remarked, but what Doyoung paid attention to is how the stranger noticed him too. And suddenly he tries hard to remember if he sleeps embarrassingly, or if he sleeps with his mouth agape. As if on cue the stranger adds, “Don’t worry, you don’t drool,” and laughs coolly.   
  
Doyoung was relieved. Both because he doesn’t drool, and also how he felt connected to a human being for the first time, after a week in a strange, fast-paced, and rather really exhausting city.  
  
The whole train ride suddenly wasn’t as tiring anymore. Doyoung learns that he’s already lived here for since college, ever since their family moved in here. Like him, it took this stranger also a while before getting used to the foreign environment.  
  
He even adds that Doyoung’s actually doing better than an average foreigner. “Most of them gets lost because of the complicated railways, you could tell by the look on their faces,” and they laughed. What Doyoung could think of is how it's unexpected for this guy to be the chatty type.  
  
Doyoung wouldn’t also forget how he praised him when he learned that Doyoung’s having full conversation with his workmates, “I didn’t talk to anyone for a month,” he exclaimed. And Doyoung assures him that it’s just because he’s required to talk to them.  
  
Suddenly it’s Yoyogi, the 13th stop. Doyoung felt a little upset, and if he weren’t holding back, he felt miserable. “Wait, I didn’t get your name,” Doyoung tugs the guy’s shirt, who was already standing up. The guy smiles brightly and introduced, “It’s Lee Taeyong,” and Doyoung’s night was made.  
  
He smiled back, wondering why he still hasn’t left, until he realized. “Ah, I’m Doyoung,” he chuckled. The guy laughed too, and waved goodbye. Doyoung waved back to Taeyong.  
  
__  
  
His days doesn’t feel as dull anymore. Really bare minimum, he would think to himself, but the 30 minutes conversation he gets with Taeyong on the train is now really all that he looks forward to during the day.  
  
Life is drastically different when you're a foreigner who would be more conscious if you pronounced the word right, or did I even use the right word, rather than having a free conversation on how much the lunch sucks without worries.   
  
Some nights the train would get a bit crowded, and the only seats unoccupied are far from each other, so Doyoung would rather stand next to Taeyong and chat. Some nights, they’d get luckier than usual, and a seat right next to each other would be vacant. So they’d seat next to each other comfortably, and talk about how their days went.  
  
A lot of Doyoung’s would be how much of an asshole his boss is, and together they’d backstab him, much to Doyoung's amusement. _No one this good-looking would actually talk about going against the system,_ Doyoung thought, but here he was.

A handful of Taeyong’s would be of bitchy customers, and together they’d talk about how entitled rude customers don’t deserve rights. Unconsciously, Doyoung feels a bit more of affection towards him, thinking about how he found someone who tolerates his social issues rants, and not just listens to them, but actually contributes to the discussion. Doyoung would sigh at how dreamy Taeyong is.   
  
The best days come when Doyoung would arrive on a train, seeing Taeyong already seated while smiling slyly at him, and the old man next to him would get up. Doyoung grins back as he knows it’s his spot to take.  
  
“You know I’ve already memorized the familiar people here,” Taeyong would boast, and Doyoung would smirk at him, “Yeah?”  
  
“I know which people would get off where,” he says while plugging earphones into his phone, “like the old man seated there, he gets off where you arrive,” and Doyoung added, “Kanda,”  
  
“Yeah, so I sit next to him, so you can sit next to me when he leaves,” Doyoung laughs at his silliness, but inside he felt warm. He actually found that sweet, if he’s being honest. His days wouldn’t be complete without their foolish conversations. “What if someone else sits here, then?” he asks like a little child.  
  
And Taeyong replied, “Then I’d have to stand with you.” And that, Doyoung found sweeter, because it’s true, and occasionally, it happens.  
  
“Here,” Taeyong places the right side of the earphone on Doyoung’s ear, and the other on his. Taeyong plays a mellow music, just enough for Doyoung to feel at peace. Doyoung smiles at him. Taeyong secretly admires how nice his smile is, and how his gums show whenever he does just adds a bit of cheekiness on his alluring smile. He feels nothing but butterflies, evident by the rose color that crossed his cheeks.  
  
As Doyoung thought that the day couldn’t get any better than this, Taeyong gestures at his shoulder invitingly.  
  
Doyoung obliged. He rests his head unto Taeyong’s shoulder, and he closes his eyes. He placed his hand on Taeyong’s knees warily, not really sure if he should, and Taeyong placed his hand above Doyoung’s assuringly. Not really caring if it’d earn them a judging look from strangers.  
  
At that moment, Doyoung’s night just did got better.  
  
\--  
  
It has become his favorite part of his daily routine, unaware that a repetitive event would bring him this much joy. He’s standing next to Taeyong, the train not really crowded, but just because they both want to.  
  
For the first time, Taeyong asked. “Hey, have you eaten yet?” Really, after weeks of their time together, Taeyong still feels a bit nervous around him. Apparently, every time his heart skips that quickly, he thinks he’s nervous.  
  
Of course I’ve eaten, what else could I possibly do while waiting for this train? Doyoung thought to himself. But ah, fuck it. “Hmm? Not yet, have you?”  
  
Taeyong’s face lit up. Just by that, Doyoung knows his lie was worth it.  
  
“Well, I know this ramen place just five stops from here, you wanna..?” Taeyong trails off. This is actually the first time they’re going out, and in his now dull life, he felt like it’s a big deal.  
  
Doyoung flashes a bright smile. I knew this would pay off. “Of course.”  
  
\--  
  
Five stops after, they hopped off at Tamachi.  
  
Having a long walk in the middle in the night was not new to either of them. This used to be how Doyoung spends his nights with his friends in Seoul, and so walking with all the bright city lamps made him feel quite nostalgic.  
  
For Taeyong, well, he’s just a child of the streets, and the night vibe is the energy that pumps through his veins.  
  
Reluctantly, Doyoung tugs Taeyong’s thick jacket from the elbow, and Taeyong quickly got the cue. He moved his arm, just a bit, and Doyoung knows he’s been allowed to hook his arm around Taeyong’s. Subtly, Taeyong pulled him closer. Not really sure why he did, but he just hates the space between them.  
  
The night breathes chilly wind, but with Doyoung, he felt warm.  
  
“Here we are,” Taeyong announced as they stop in front of a brightly-lit but quiet place. The place was in a narrow, almost hidden street, and even if the street’s less bright than the main ones, it’s still vivid.  
  
“It’s really…. Japan,” Doyoung blurts out, knowing what he said barely made sense. Honestly, this is the first time ever since he’s arrived here that he had the chance to appreciate the city. Work has always been a priority since his day one.  
  
“Mhm, the city that never sleeps,” Taeyong states, while placing two bowls of boiling ramen on their table for two.  
  
Thinking how much Doyoung was looking around while they were walking, Taeyong adds, quite confidently this time, “I should take you out more often.”  
  
Doyoung looked at him with shiny eyes. At that moment, he was just happy. Not really worrying about how he needs to deal with his asshole of a boss, or the monotonous work he faces on a daily basis, he sinks the moment in.  
  
The mad electric energy of the city and the joy of sipping a warm bowl of ramen, all summed up in a single person. Lee Taeyong, who’s right before his eyes.  
  
Taeyong curiously queries a staring Doyoung, “… if only you want to, of course,” he consciously added.  
  
Doyoung laughed a warmhearted laugh. “Idiot. Of course I do,” he’s filled with so much joy, and he felt like he has a thousand words to say, but the only thing he could add is, “Taeyong, just in case you hadn’t noticed, I like you, very very much.”  
  
And Taeyong, a child of Tokyo streets, found more energy in human form that is Kim Doyoung.  
  
\--  
  
They’re walking back to the station. This time, slower than they did earlier, with both hearts and stomachs full, and Doyoung's is a little more bloated.  
  
Suddenly, Taeyong halts, in the middle of a narrow, dimly-lit street. He stares at Doyoung, and immediately he k ows, they’re both feeling the same way. He's holding Doyoung's hand, nothing they've both talked about, but unconsciously agreed on.  
  
“I’ve been meaning to do this,” he starts, and Doyoung, without the need for Taeyong to say what it is, knows what he meant.  
  
On a dark alley, he pulled him in, still holding his hand, but this time, with his face inches from Doyoung's. Doyoung felt it too. Slowly, and very surely, he pressed his lips unto Doyoung's. After a moment, he pulled away, and stared into Doyoung's droopy eyes. Not from exhaustion, but out of intoxication of Taeyong.  
  
Something inside Doyoung just bursted. He dropped his bag and did what he has to do. He kissed him back, this time even longer, as he let go of Taeyong's hand, creeped into his shirt, and lands it on his back. Taeyong pushed him gently unto the wall, one hand supporting himself against the wall so he won't crash Doyoung, the other's cupped on Doyoung's head, pressing hardly into his, both with eyes closed.   
  
Taeyong started moving his lips, barely breathing. He sucked unto Doyoung's lower lip, making him release a sound that'll be imprinted on his mind, digging deeper, drowning in heavier.  
  
Taeyong could feel his adrenaline rush inside of him as Doyoung's hand roamed freely inside his shirt. One hand digging rather deeply on his back, while the other very slowly, intimately, travels down, making its way inside Taeyong's trousers, just lingering on the part where he could feel the bump.   
  
He quickly pulled away, and looked at Doyoung's eyes, which are now full of mischief. Taeyong smirked, "you're a fucking tease," before breathing in deeply to awaken himself.   
  
Doyoung laughed at his reaction. "Cute," he retorts.   
  
"Come on, we're gonna miss the last train," Taeyong shakes his head and pulled Doyoung back at the streets. Doyoung laughed even harder at how tonight turned out to be.  
  
  
  
\--  
  
  
Their little ramen session has become more usual than it how it should, and not really everyday, for sometimes one of them gets so tired that they'd decide to let the tired one sleep on the train. They go whenever they feel hungry, in ways more than one.   
  
"So I have this coworker," Doyoung starts off, watching Taeyong's expression. He was listening attentively, as usual. Tonight they're both sitting at the corner of the coach, with most seats emptier.  
  
"He's really good in Korean," Doyoung continues, still paying so much attention to Taeyong's face. This is going to be amusing, he thought.  
  
"Really? That's great then, a fellow Korean to talk to," Taeyong had so much enthusiasm in his voice that Doyoung knows that it'll be even funnier.  
  
"Yeah, well he's also a big flirt and he's hitting on me," Doyoung finishes off. The light on Taeyong's face was snatched and replaced with a frown.  
  
Doyoung had a triumphant look, only until when Taeyong opened his mouth.  
  
"I expected, you're really good-looking, you know?" Taeyong just found the perfect response. The smug look on Doyoung's face was quickly wiped off.  
  
"You're no fun," and Taeyong knew he won, as he just laughed at Doyoung's foolishness.  
  
"Well, if you wanna continue your story maybe we'll get something out of this," Taeyong said.  
  
Doyoung thinks and proceeded to describe the event. "Well, I'm thinking he's fairly rich based on how he dress, he's really tall and toned, and I think he has a thing for foreigners..." Doyoung thought for a moment what he heard during office gossips, based on how much he understood, "ah, he used to be fucking around with this Chinese guy in our office," Taeyong raises an eyebrow.  
  
Doyoung adds, "I think his name's Yuta... Nakagawa? Nakamura? I'm not really good with Japanese names,"  
  
"Nakamoto," Taeyong corrected, and Doyoung said, "Yes that," before his eyes widened bloodshot, in which Taeyong cackled even harder.  
  
The conversation is backfiring so bad for Doyoung. He just knew he had officially lost, so he gave in and asked, "How the fuck did you know?"  
  
And Taeyong told him the story how they used to go to the same college together. He agreed that this guy had a thing for foreigners, also adding that "He's really smart, right?" which earned an agreement from Doyoung, and "but also he's a whore," which gained a bigger nod from Doyoung and a hearty laugh.  
  
"Small world..." Doyoung said in awe.  
  
"Yeah, I even used to date him for a while," Doyoung's night couldn't get any wilder, as it seems.  
  
"Motherfucker! Really?" Doyoung exclaimed quite loudly, which earned them a glare from nearby passengers, quickly bowing as a sorry.  
  
Taeyong couldn't stop laughing. It seems that this had become their most amusing conversation.  
  
"Yeah, it was a fling in college, and what could I do? He's hot and he speaks Korean," and Doyoung couldn't help but agree.  
  
They proceeded into discussing how Yuta is one of Japan's tourist attractions, just except you'd leave the country heartbroken.  
  
"Funny how we can ogle about a guy," Doyoung commented.  
  
"Well, only because we both know we're both pathetically whipped for each other," Taeyong says victoriously.  
  
"Who said I'm pathetic, though?" Doyoung asked, with the arrogant smile on his face back.

This isn't really how Doyoung planned this conversation to flow, but inside he's really glad that it went like this. He just knew he hit the jackpot with this guy. 

Just then, Taeyong's station was announced.  
  
"Wait, I have an idea," Doyoung stops him from standing. "Yeah?" Without even knowing yet, Taeyong knew he'd like it.  
  
"Spend the night at my place?" Doyoung cooed.  
  
Taeyong grinned and nodded, almost too vigorously.  
  
\--  
  
  
Before both of them could know it, they're both sprawled topless on Doyoung's single bed, with Doyoung apologizing for its size between laughters. Taeyong would say, 'the size is the challenge', and kisses him harder.  
  
Doyoung's neck is a meal and Taeyong's famished, as he sucks carelessly on every skin on sight. Doyoung indecently shows how much he yearns for this through the most unholy sounds Taeyong has heard.  
  
Still unsatisfied, Taeyong goes for Doyoung's nape, finding his way to Doyoung's jaw, nipping and sucking what he could. His favorite part is the middle of the neck, a part that's bare when only wearing a shirt, but frankly neither of them gives a fuck. Taeyong sucked and bit, circling his tongue while still sucking Doyoung's neck. Their sounds filled the small room, while Taeyong shushes a very flushed Doyoung.

Doyoung digs deeper into Taeyong's back that just intensifies Taeyong's actions even more. He lets his hand roam freely on Taeyong's body, caressing his toned arms, and finding their way to Taeyong's jet black hair as he directs his head to his.  
  
Taeyong inhales sharply as he stares into Doyoung's, before going in for a deep kiss on his lips. Lingering and hungrily, neither of them stopped sucking the life off each other, and eventually Doyoung found his tongue playing with Taeyong, biting playfully. They don't really care that they're wet and tainted all over. 

Doyoung's body is marked with Taeyong's love bites, but that would be a problem for tomorrow.

\--  
  
They both lay next to each other, with Taeyong spooning Doyoung, and him resting on Taeyong's bare chest.  
  
"So now that we've blessed your place, I'm assuming our next destination is mine?" Taeyong inquires brazenly, and Doyoung smacked him lightly on the chest.  
  
"So is this what you meant by taking me out?" Doyoung jokes, kind of hopeful that it is.  
  
\--  
  
The same train stops at exactly 11:15 at Kanda station, only the next times, without Taeyong and Doyoung boarded.  
  
  
Some nights, Taeyong would just pick up Doyoung from work, right after Doyoung admitted how 11:15 isn't really the train he's supposed to take. At that time Taeyong said, "and you say you're not pathetic?" and Doyoung openly regrets telling him, and Taeyong laughed at him just to add salt to the wound.

  
  
At other nights they'd eat sushi, takoyaki, yakisoba, and would bag whatever drinks they found in the vendos on the streets.

  
  
Most of the nights, they'd be found in either one of their places, cuddling, or doing god knows what they could do under the sheets.

**Author's Note:**

> if you made it 'til here then i must say: thank you so much. wrote this in the middle of the night so i apologize for any lapses.
> 
> a kudos and or a comment would be greatly appreciated! (i accept criticisms!)


End file.
